VIENNA, VA - If there is ever any doubt as to whether or not Detroit truly is "the motor city," one only need visit the Detroit North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) to realize that Detroit is without question, the home to the lifeblood that flows through the automotive world's veins.

The Detroit NAIAS is one of the biggest shows held in the United States, and it's no wonder why - well over 140,000 people were at the show on the days that we were there. Try taking pictures (or even seeing the cars) when you're literally rubbing elbows with 140,000 car enthusiasts. As one of our staffers noted, "walking the Detroit show is like trying to get out of a crowded sporting event - impossible and frustrating."

We made a major scheduling faux paux by staying at the Los Angeles Auto Show for several weeks rather than flying straight to Detroit for the media "pre-show" events. We'll never make that mistake again; according to the media kit we received from NAIAS, only 7,000 journalists attended the media days at Detroit (January 5 - 7). Note to self: "don't ever miss another Detroit NAIAS press day. Ever."

Despite the throngs of people at the public show (January 8 - 21), we did our best to fight, kick, and plead through the masses to score quality pictures for you, our loyal Roadfly readers. But, we're getting ahead of ourselves.

We arrived in Detroit by way of the wonderful Detroit Wayne County airport (can you sense the sarcasm?) and were immediately greeted by a cold blast of arctic air - ah, nothing beats Detroit in the winter.

Despite temperatures that we could count with just a few fingers, people flocked to the show - we should have known things were going to be packed when the MEN's bathroom line was a couple-hundred people deep.

We located the credentials office, got our press passes and walked over to the media office to get the passes that would allow us the enter the show as members of the media. Armed with only our cameras and a naive sense of "we can do it!" we made our way in to the show.

My first impression was one of utter disbelief. The Los Angeles Auto Show was very spacious, very wide-open, and very "calm". If I had to compare it to something, I'd compare it to a golf course - sure, you'd see some people here and there, but for the most part, you had the course to yourself.

The Detroit NAIAS, on the other hand, was more like a rock concert's mosh pit. People were bumping, pushing, and tripping over one another - we could barely make out the walkways. It would be interesting, to say the least.